CCNP Network Assurance Practice Question
A network administrator is using Cisco DNA Center Assurance to monitor the health of a campus network. The administrator wants to receive alerts when a switch's health score drops below a threshold. Which Assurance feature should be configured to generate these alerts?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that the Network Health Dashboard or Sensor-driven tests automatically send alerts, when in fact alerting requires explicit configuration of Assurance Issues and Notifications.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Assurance Issues and Notifications
To generate alerts when a switch's health score drops below a threshold, the administrator must configure Assurance Issues and Notifications in Cisco DNA Center. This feature allows defining specific health score conditions and setting up notification channels such as email or webhooks. The Network Health Dashboard is for visualization, Path Trace for troubleshooting, and Sensor-driven tests for proactive monitoring, none of which provide threshold-based alerting directly.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Assurance Issues and Notifications
Why this is correct
Cisco DNA Center Assurance allows administrators to define issues and configure notifications based on health score thresholds. By setting up assurance issues, the system can trigger alerts via email, syslog, or webhook when a switch's health score falls below a specified value. This is the correct feature for proactive alerting.
- ✗
Sensor-driven tests
Why it's wrong here
Sensor-driven tests use DNA sensors to proactively test network performance, but they do not natively generate alerts when a switch's health score drops. Sensors can detect issues but require integration with assurance issues for alerting. The direct method is to configure assurance issues and notifications.
- ✗
Network Health Dashboard
Why it's wrong here
The Network Health Dashboard provides a visual overview of network health but does not automatically generate alerts when thresholds are breached. It is a monitoring interface, not an alerting mechanism. To receive alerts, the administrator must configure specific assurance issues and notifications, not just view the dashboard.
- ✗
Path Trace
Why it's wrong here
Path Trace is used to trace the path of traffic between endpoints for troubleshooting. It does not generate alerts based on health score thresholds. While it can help diagnose issues after an alert, it is not the feature for configuring threshold-based notifications.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Cisco exam blueprint
This 350-401 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 350-401 exam.